I'm putting togeather my ideas for a WW1 dio. I want to have a observation bailoon in it but I need some info on how to make one. Any help would be great. Thanks.

Here is how I would do it:

1. Go to an art supply store and get one of those styrofoam balls (white or green)
2. Cover it with tissue paper (glue it on)
3. Attach some ropes to the balloon itself and let some of them hang down.
4. Make a basked out of paper or putty and attach it to the underside of the balloon with some of the ropes hanging down.

I know this is just a bird's eye overview but should give you the basic idea.

I saw a really cool ACW diorama several years ago that had a hot air balloon on it. It was made like Marty described, and it looked cool. Good luck with this idea, and be sure to post some pictures of it.

Patrick

Observation balloons were more sausage like than round. If you do a search in Google, you should get plenty of examples. Try this link:

http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22observation+balloons%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&meta=